Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)
🎙 Steve Bruce ahead of #ARSNEW:
"Jamal Lewis could come back in. Jamaal Lascelles too. We've got a problem with Federico Fernández. Allan Saint-Maximin is training today or tomorrow which is good news but he's been out for around seven weeks so we'll have to monitor him." pic.twitter.com/MxQGaXJWfJ
January 15, 2021
Lovely stuff from Yaya Toure on his career and becoming a coach.
“I wouldn’t say I was demanding as a player. I just saw the potential in my teammates and wanted them to be as comfortable as possible. That was something I learned at Barcelona: everyone is different. If you don’t talk with them and it’s only the manager giving information, you can’t make your teammate the best they can be. If they score a goal, it is a goal for all of you, so why not help them whenever you can?”
West Brom manager Sam Allardyce ahead of their upcoming game against Wolves (via PA):
“Derbies are about your passion and capabilities to play the game, and not the occasion.
“If the occasion overwhelms you then you can’t get a performance. But if you can use the derby to stimulate you, then you will get opportunities.
“We want to have the bragging rights and make our fans feel better on top of what we’re suffering at the minute, a little bit of joy during this period.
“Another three points would make such a difference, not just against our local rivals but it would take us to 11 points - double figures. We want to break the barrier, let’s see if we can.”
Auckland FC have pulled out of the Fifa Club World Cup, which appears to be going ahead during this pandemic. From the Fifa website:
“Following the withdrawal of Auckland City, the Fifa Club World Cup 2020 will be contested by Al-Duhail SC, Al Ahly SC, FC Bayern Munich, Ulsan Hyundai FC, Tigres UANL and the winners of the Conmebol Libertadores final scheduled for 30 January.”
Who was the last player to have such a transformative effect on a top team?
WhoScored.com (@WhoScored)
🏆 Only Wayne Rooney (5) has now won the @premierleague player of the month award more times for Manchester United than Bruno Fernandes (4)
🤣 Fernandes hasn’t even been at #MUFC 12 months yet... pic.twitter.com/2i83tJZkql
January 15, 2021
Here is Jacob Steinberg’s full piece on Fikayo Tomori and Milan.
Graham Potter on Brighton’s form and Marcelo Bielsa ahead of tomorrow’s game versus Leeds (via PA):
“I think we’ve probably had one game, or a game-and-a-half (this season), where we’ve not been ourselves,” said Potter. “Other than that, our performance level has been good.
“But if you don’t get the points there is criticism and pressure, and (people saying) you have to do something to get the wins. We know that. We are in a results business.
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“He’s [Bielsa] done amazing. It’s a massive club and they’ve been disappointing for a long time,” said Potter.
“They get back in the Premier League - it wasn’t easy but they’ve done it and they’ve done it well - and now they are bringing their own game to the Premier League, which is a credit to him and everybody there.”
Milan want to insert an option to buy Fikayo Tomori if they sign the Chelsea centre-back on loan this month. The Serie A leaders are looking to strengthen their defence this month and have opened talks over a deal for Tomori, who has fallen out of favour under Frank Lampard this season.
Scott Parker had plenty of nice things to say about his former teammate Frank Lampard ahead of Fulham’s match against Chelsea tomorrow at 5:30pm.
“(He had a) work ethic and a determination. (I have) massive respect for Frank as a footballer and the player he was,” Parker said.
“I was privileged enough to play with him but I’ve probably got more respect for a guy that had an unbelievable work ethic.
“He drove (himself) everyday in terms of his craft and wanting to get better and had a single-mindedness about him that got him the career he got.
“With those foundations and those abilities, I always knew that if that was a thing he wanted to go into in terms of management then he’d be successful because with those values you’ve always got a chance.
“So it doesn’t surprise me that he’s gone to Derby and does well and then gets the Chelsea job under tight restrictions last year in terms of what they had to go through and he did an incredible job with them. And the same this year really.”
OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo)
1 - This will be the 1st Rome #derby to be played on Friday in all competitions: this is the only day of the week in which this fixture has never been played in it’s history. Inedited.#LazioRoma #DerbyDellaCapitale pic.twitter.com/meJlrRLeMs
January 15, 2021
This is the fourth time he has won. He hasn’t even been in England for a full year. This is quite a stat:
B/R Football (@brfootball)
Bruno Fernandes is named PL Player of the Month for December—his 4th award since joining Manchester United last January ✨
He now has as many POTM awards as:
▪️ Cristiano Ronaldo
January 15, 2021
▪️ Dennis Bergkamp
▪️ Thierry Henry
▪️ Frank Lampard
▪️ Paul Scholes
▪️ Alan Shearer
▪️ Jamie Vardy pic.twitter.com/fHjKFIW8Dt
Marcelo Bielsa has defended Kiko Casilla, whose form has been under scrutiny recently. Last year, he was fined £60k and banned for eight matches after he was found to have racially abused Jonathan Leko of Charlton. (via PA)
“I fully trust in Kiko and I will do the utmost possible to help him,” said Bielsa, whose side will bid to bounce back in the Premier League against Brighton at Elland Road on Saturday.
“I think that the treatment he suffered ignores the fact that he played 40 games for Real Madrid.
“Apart from whether his performances were good or bad, we forget all the things he has done to get the team promoted.”
“People also don’t consider how he’s been treated publicly given the situation that he had to go through when he was suspended for eight games,” Bielsa said.
“I believe in him, his team-mates believe in him and we are close to him because we value him as a person and a footballer.
“We accept what people think of him in the media or people, but we know his past and we know his conditions and we care about him a lot as a human being.”
Leeds face Brighton at 3pm on Saturday.
Liverpool-United hasn’t yielded too many goals over the past 5 years. The head to head since January 2016: 3 wins for Liverpool, 2 wins for United and 6(!) draws. Of the 6 draws, half were 0-0 and the other half were 1-1.
Please do take a look at Guti’s assist for Zidane’s second goal here. Delightful.
Goal (@goal)
Zinedine Zidane's only La Liga hat-trick for Real Madrid ✨pic.twitter.com/y0AjShJ517
January 15, 2021
Marcus Rashford gives Jose Mourinho credit for Manchester United’s many penalties.
Manchester United’s Leah Galton to Louise Taylor:
“Christen Press and Tobin Heath have changed minds and our mindset. They’ve brought a different, much more positive, mentality. They’ve given us belief and the confidence to keep pushing forward, to create and to take more chances. They’ve given me the confidence to shoot from outside the area.”
Here are 10 things to look out for ahead of another Premier League weekend.
Another postponement: Tomorrow’s scheduled Championship game between QPR and Wycombe Wanderers has been postponed after positive COVID-19 tests to some Wycombe players/staff.
Wycombe are supposed to face Tottenham in the FA Cup fourth round in 10 days.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are breaking records.
Orbinho (@Orbinho)
Arsenal failed to score at home against Crystal Palace for the first time EVER!
January 15, 2021
Charlotte Duncker (@CharDuncker)
Another player and manager double for #MUWomen as Leah Galton is named WSL player of the month and Casey Stoney manager of the month for December. pic.twitter.com/H88og2pBnp
January 15, 2021
Paul Pogba has given a couple of interviews over the last few days. An indication of how well things are going for him over the last couple of weeks.
Football Daily (@footballdaily)
🗣 "The day we win we'll say we're on the same level, we're not there yet, we're still very far."
Paul Pogba says Manchester United can't compare themselves to Liverpool unless they win the Premier League pic.twitter.com/dGXBBI5cWY
January 15, 2021
Good morning! We are back for another Friday countdown as a packed Premier League weekend awaits. The biggest fixture of the weekend is very clear. Manchester United and Liverpool will reprise their rivalry in the top two spots on the table for the first time in a while when they face each other on Sunday, with the victor finishing the weekend top.
Aside from that, play will begin tomorrow around midday with a West Midlands derby between Wolves and West Brom, then West Ham vs Burnley, Leeds vs Brighton and a London derby between Fulham and Chelsea. Saturday will conclude with Leicester City vs Southampton.
Sunday will see Sheffield United vs Tottenham, Liverpool vs Manchester United, Manchester City vs Crystal Palace and finally Arsenal vs Newcastle. Aston Villa vs Everton has been postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak at Villa. We go again.
from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3qrFR6L
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